Children born in France to at least one American parent are automatically US citizens, but paperwork is required to obtain a Social Security number or an American passport. Pending American and Franco-American parents: here's how to make it all official.

She wants to know if I'm a musician, this middle-aged woman behind the bank-teller-like window #4 at the Consular Section of the American Embassy.

Obtaining official citizenship for must be done in person at the US embassy

She eyes my dreadlocks and perhaps imagines me touring with a rock band, spreading my family seed like Bob Marley all around the world. No, I answer good-humoredly, I'm an author.

She further scrutinizes my Consular Report of Birth Abroad application, asking questions more pointedly related to the birth of my son in Paris's 14th arrondissement last September. Little Lucas Morrison Lewis, four months old, squirms a bit in the babysling across my chest.

Soon he'll be registered as an American citizen with a Social Security card on the way. 

This doesn't happen automatically of course; a child's birth anywhere requires paperwork before they exist in officialdom. If the child is born overseas, it's the same…only more so. Here's what I learned when going through this process with my son.

Americans born abroad

A child born in France of at least one American parent is immediately a citizen of the United States, according to Section 301(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

(This wasn't true, by the way, until 1978; before that, a child born abroad was obligated to live in America for a set length of time in order to claim American citizenship. The law was changed, partly due to the lobbying efforts of the Association of Americans Resident Overseas. )

But now US citizenship is automatic even if the parent doesn't trek, as I did, through the cold of a Paris winter to the Embassy to fill out the paperwork. The paperwork is required not to grant citizenship, but rather to get it acknowledged with an official document and, eventually, an American passport.

The only requirement is, if the mother is American, that she has lived in the States for at least one full year at some point in her life; if the father is American, he must have lived in the States for a total of 10 years (not necessarily in one block of time), including at least five years after 14 years of age.

As I meet this requirement, supposing that I never lifted a finger to document his birth here, Lucas would have been required to do so himself by the age of 18 or be denied the relatively simple simple process of filling out the Consular Report of Birth Abroad form. He would still be able to claim citizenship, but would have to prove that I had met this 'physical presence' requirement. 

The process

The registration procedure goes like this: you must make an appointment in advance with the Consular Office. (If you live outside of Paris, you may be able to get this done at one of the American Presence Posts in Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Nice, Rennes, Strasbourg or Toulouse but you need to call and confirm in advance.)

You'll need to bring your child with you to this appointment where you fill out the Consular Report of Birth Abroad application (although the form can be downloaded from the Embassy website).

A consular will ask for a checklist of items including:

• the child's birth certificate, that is, l'extrait de l'acte de naissance (This is the only form that will be accepted to meet this requirement.)
• your own passport
• your marriage certificate if you are married
• a statement listing your periods of physical presence in America
• the US $65 fee (Personal checks are not accepted although you can use a credit or debit card to pay in dollars or euros.)

If the other parent is French and cannot be present, her/his proof of French citizenry (copy of passport or ID card) is also mandatory.

My partner Christine (French by way of Martinique island) and I are not yet married. The proviso for a situation like this is that I officially recognize Lucas as my child and formally agree to support him until at least the age of 18 before I can transmit my American citizenship to my son.

The easiest way to establish paternity is to list yourself as the father on the child's birth certificate; the second requirement is filled by signing a prepared form at the Embassy stipulating a commitment to financial assistance.

Were Christine an American with a Frenchman giving birth in Paris, no other conditions would be necessary to transfer her US citizenship to her son. And if our next child is born after we marry, its American citizenship will be automatic without me having to sign these additional forms.

Consular Report of Birth Abroad: your child's passport to an American passport

After a brief wait, the office prints out a diploma-sized, signed Consular Report of Birth Abroad document for my son complete with an official seal that serves as legal proof of his United States citizenship.

Little Lucas is also seen as French by the local law and was automatically added to Christine's livret de famille as any other French child would be.

If both parents are American but their children are born here, those children can also claim French citizenship after they turn 18 and if a) they have lived in France for at least five years, consecutively or not, and b) they live in France at the time of applying for citizenship.

Children adopted by Americans abroad are not automatically American citizens but become so, by virtue of the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, upon legally entering the United States with their adoptive parents.

Additional documents

You can also apply at this time for your child's Social Security card — for free — but this isn't obligatory.

For an extra US $82 charge, you can also fill out a passport application. (For children 16 or 17 years old, the passport fee is US $97.)

Note: though your child is technically entitled to the passports of both countries, this creates confusion when traveling and is frowned upon by the authorities. Given recent regulations about biometric passports for French citizens — or visas for those traveling to the States without one — an American passport is probably best for dual-citizenship children.

As for us, I decide to tackle the hurdle of his passport another day — it requires a whole other set of paperwork — and the consular offers a list of photographers who take passport-sized pictures, even though baby Lucas will look different by the time the paperwork is processed.

The consular officer and I have become friendly by now, by the way. I tell her that I am a musician actually, that I play a little piano. We laugh together, and then Lucas — now an official American — and I head back into Paris, the city of his birth.

March 2006

Copyright Expatica

Subject: Living in France